MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao underscored the need to legislate a long-term development roadmap that must be implemented even with the changing of administrations.
Talking over lunch with Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Secretary-General Monsignor Bernardo Pantin, Pacquiao said he would push for a 50-year legislated development masterplan or “MP” which would depoliticize the government’s infrastructure development roadmap.
“It will be legislated so that its implementation will be carried out regardless of the agenda of the sitting administration,” Pacquiao said.
This development master plan will have its own timeline and its funding will be automatically appropriated in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Pacquiao has authored Senate Bill 2122 or the 30-Year National Infrastructure Master Plan Act which seeks to create a 30-year infrastructure roadmap for the Philippines.
“The Master Plan will serve as the framework for the desirable locations, scopes, linkages, and timing of public and private investments in major infrastructure in the country over the next three decades. It will serve as a reliable and predictable road map for the construction industry, investors, entrepreneurs, and associated sectors in carrying out their long-term business plans and decisions, ” Pacquiao said on the explanatory note of his SB 2122.
“The need for a long-term plan is further underscored by the recent successive destructive typhoons and floods, and with the recent devastation from the COVID pandemic, this calls for strategic infrastructure projects based on an overall long-range program to better use limited resources for more effective and lasting engineering and related measures to mitigate losses from these calamities, ” Pacquaio added.
Pacquiao also told Pantin that he would still push for the re-imposition of the death penalty but would only cover plunder and high-level drug offenses like drug trafficking and drug manufacturing.
“Itong corruption ay mas malala pa sa ating problema sa droga. Ito ang tunay na nagpapahirap sa ating mga mahihirap. We will punish them and give back their ill-gotten wealth to our people, ” Pacquiao said.
The CBCP is opposed to the death penalty.
Pacquiao said however that he would launch an honest-to-goodness cleansing and wide-ranging reforms on law enforcement, prosecution, and judiciary.
“Dapat yung mga guilty lang ang maparusahan ng death penatly. We should fix the three pillars of our justice system so that we will only punish those who are really guilty,” Pacquiao said.
He also raised the need to ensure the safety and security of the members of the judiciary as he expressed alarm over the increasing cases of assassinations against members of the legal profession.
“The members of our judiciary must be free from fear so that they can administer justice swiftly and fairly, ” Pacquiao said.
After lunch, Pacquiao inspected his campaign headquarters in Makati where he also met with his key political leaders.